The New Nintendo 2DS: A Girly Geek Review

When I was very new at the Instagram game, I met a very charming group of folks. One of those people was the mastermind behind LukeLikesGames, a champion game collector and general wonderful person.

I distinctly remember the first conversation I had with him.

It was about controller design. His point was that some designs, like the Xbox and PlayStation controllers, haven’t really had any major changes (aside from a tweak or two) since they were introduced.

I, being a fresh Instagrammer who didn’t understand that sarcasm doesn’t translate well online, tried to make a statement on the “changes” to the new PS4 DualShock.

Yeah.

When I started thinking about the changes to the new Nintendo 2DS, that conversation is the first thing that popped to mind—because while Sony and Microsoft tend to stick to the same general concept, Nintendo isn’t afraid to mix things up.

Especially when it comes to the many iterations of the DS family.

Strange changes

My lovely green Nintendo DS Lite was the first handheld I owned, and to me, it was a big deal. It also very quickly became Nintendo’s #1 Most Updated.

There was about a three-year gap between the Lite and the DSi, which had a few advancements but nothing too huge. It was the Wi-Fi feature that sold me on it, because I really, really, really wanted an event Mew.

Just one year later, in 2010, Nintendo released the 3DS, which got me all excited because I’d be able to see games in 3D without needing to wear big chunky glasses over my big chunky glasses. Seriously, you try balancing those on your nose for two hours in a movie. It’s even trickier when you’re looking down at a game, not that I know, but I assume.

In 2012, Nintendo released the 3DS XL, which it paired with the brand-new 2DS. I had my heart set on the XL, and couldn’t see myself ever playing a 2DS—Nintendo had developed it to be a flat console based on feedback about the hinges breaking, and I’d never had the problem (and liked being able to close it to quickly pause games).

I wasn’t terribly surprised when Nintendo introduced its “new” 3DS XL without an accompanying flat 2DS.

I was more surprised when, just this year, Nintendo announced its new 2DS XL.

Getting 2D point

The main difference between the 2DS XL and the new 3DS XL is, as you may have surmised, its lack of 3D-ness.

Believe it or not, this was actually a selling feature for me.

When I got my first 3DS, I used the 3D feature for about two days before it started giving me headaches. I did all kinds of research to see if it was as simple as I was holding it like a rookie, but it turned out that wasn’t the case. The 3D just affected me.

I didn’t use it again.

I loved the new 2DS for a couple of reasons:

It had all the size with none of the headaches

It came in fun colour combinations

And for all that, it was cheaper.

Hey, if I can pay less* for a console that doesn’t have a feature I personally can’t use anyway, I’m all for it!

*Note: I didn’t technically pay anything for it because my amazing boyfriend got it for my birthday, but you get the idea.

Seeing the big picture

The reason I had decided to go for the 3DS XL, instead of going for the original 3DS, had a lot to do with the screen sizes. Like any gamer who’s dreamed of the ultimate gaming room TV, I loved the idea of being able to play my DS games on something bigger than a 3” screen.

That was one of the things I loved about the new 2DS XL.

It’s roughly the same size as a 3DS, and the resolution improvement over the old 3DS XL made a big difference. I’m excited to be able to take it for a test drive on more of my games; it’s really only run Story of Seasons thus far.

Bonus features!

There were a few other things I noticed about it that made a difference, even from the new 3DS XL.

The size: Because it doesn’t need the additional hardware and power needed to run in 3D, the new 2DS is smaller and surprisingly much lighter. It also helps that the designers decided to put the hinge on the outside of the body, which means the lower half of the 2DS is about a centimetre shorter than the 3DS XL and that much lighter for it.

The volume: I can’t even tell you how many times I’ve pulled my 3DS out of my bag just to have it start blaring Pokémon music at full on the bus. That’s why I was happy to discover that the volume control on the new 2DS has much more resistance, so it’s less likely to end in soundtrack mishaps.

The cover: DS family members typically have covers over the microSD slots, but this is the first DS family member I’ve seen that has a cover over the game card slot. Personally, I think it’s a good idea, especially for younger users who may inadvertently get similarly sized things stuck in it. Quarters are dangerous, guys.

The feet: It’s worth noting that the 2DS XL doesn’t have any kind of rubber grip on the bottom, which makes it much easier to drop off of tables and whatnot. I have to admit I wasn’t a huge fan of the change.

So there are my thoughts on the new 2DS XL. Have you tried it yet? What do you think about it?